Feral
by Total Drama Addict
Summary: Ezekiel has lost his mind. Can Eva bring him back, or will he be crazy forever?
1. Lost mind, if found, please return

**A/N** after watching African Lying Society, I realized that Ezekiel is totally crazy! He's like an animal! So, building on that idea, I came up with this.

And, yeah, this is kind of an old story.

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><p>Eva stepped off the train and stared at the vast, empty countryside she had ended up in. There wasn't much of a train station. There wasn't much of anything. <em>This can't be right, <em>she thought._ I mean, I know Zeke lives in the country, but this is ridiculous!_ She followed the road for a while until she came to some farms. She remembered what he had told her back before Total Drama World Tour.

"If you're ever in the neighborhood and want to visit, I live on the third farm on the left side." he had said. They were seemingly meaningless directions, yet Eva could see farms on either side of the dirt road. _One, two, three..._ she counted. The third farm wasn't in as good shape as the first two. There were torn up plants everywhere. She waled up to the old man that was cleaning up some of those plants.

"Does Ezekiel live here?" she asked, tapping the man on the shoulder.

"Hey, I know you! You're that girl... the one my boy used to talk about before..." he paused. "Yeah, Zeke lives here. Though I doubt he wants to see you. He hasn't wanted to see any of his old friends since..."

He paused again.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Do you think I could see him anyways?" she asked. Ezekiel's father sighed.

"Come on, I'll show you where he is." he said. He led Eva towards a large barn. "Zeke's condition has gotten a lot better, he's not as crazy as he once was. But his behavior still closely resembles that of what you city folk would call a feral cat. Maybe a wild dog."

_A feral cat? A wild dog? That can't be possible!_ She thought.

"He's been living out in the barn these days, but he chose that. We used to set out food for him, but he never went near it. He does keep the rat infestation under control, though." he said. "Lately he's taken to pulling up the tall grass on the other side of the river. If you go up to the hay loft, you can see he's making... something."

They approached the barn, and Eva wondered if Ezekiel's condition was really a bad as his dad made it sound. She just hoped that wasn't true. Maybe it was all an act.

"I'll warn you now, Zeke doesn't ever want visitors. Last time one of his friends came over to see him, the boy ended up in the hospital." he said. He opened the barn door and they went inside.

"Zeke? You in here? I got a visitor here to see you." he said. Eva saw him sleeping on the floor. He didn't look that different. His hair had mostly grown back, and he looked almost... sane. Until he woke up. His dad left, leaving her alone with Ezekiel.

He growled at her. Her first instinct was to step back, but she stood her ground. Slowly he approached her on all fours. He sniffed her cautiously, like a dog would. Recognition flickered in his eyes. Then a rat scurried past and he pounced on it. Despite the rat's squeaks of terror, he tore into it. He chewed up the raw meat hungrily, pausing only to spit out globs of bloody fur and bone. Eva was glad she had a strong stomach.

Then, as if he had forgotten she was even there, he crawled out of the barn. He went to the river, and doggie paddled across it. Eva used the bridge. He stopped to shake himself off, then continued on to the tall grass. There he started pulling up grass with his teeth. Occasionally he'd pause and look up at her.

"Zeke, what happened to you?" she asked, though he didn't hear her. "Where did you go? Where did your sanity go?"

But she already knew where it went. He had lost it in London, or maybe Africa. Maybe, she mused, if she took him back there, he could find it again.

"Why won't you talk to me?" she asked.

_Animals don't talk, that's why._

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><p><strong>AN**

Me: as we go on in this story, you'll see that there's a sharp contrast between this Ezekiel, and the Ezekiel in Eva's secret admirer.

Kayla: I can already see that.

Derek: yeah, why is that?

Me: it's because Eva's secret admirer is set before TDWT, whereas this story is set a few months after.

Derek: you did make this T rated, right?

Me: yeah.

Derek: good, because that rat eating thing was disgusting!

Kayla: seriously! I nearly puked!


	2. Rats, hats, hide and seek

**A/N **is Eva going to be able to return Ezekiel to sanity? It doesn't seem very likely at this point, but she may discover something that will help...

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><p>Ezekiel had two older brothers, Jeremiah and Daniel, and a little sister named Mary. His mother and father were very willing to let Eva stay with them when she discovered there wasn't any kind of hotel in this town.<p>

"You're welcome to stay with us for a while, we got plenty of food, though... not much space. We got a pretty good couch in the front room, if that's alright." he said.

"That's fine." Eva said, just grateful to have somewhere to stay.

"Eva can sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch." Mary said. She couldn't have been more than ten.

"No, you don't have to do that." Eva said.

"You're here to fix my brother, right?" Mary asked.

"I'd like to, yes." Eva said.

"I'd give up anything to have my brother back." Mary whispered, so that only Eva could hear. "I'll sleep on the couch." she announced.

"Alright. Now that that's settled, how about dinner?" Ezekiel's mom said.

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><p>The next morning, leaving Mary's room, Eva passed by Ezekiel's room. Hanging from the bedpost was his favorite hat. <em>You know, giving him back his hat might help him remember...<em>

Feeling very lucky, she got the hat and took it outside with her. The barn door was open slightly, but when she looked in, Ezekiel was nowhere to be seen.

"Hello? Is anybody in here?" Eva asked, walking in. Suddenly he crawled up to her, carrying a half-eaten rat in his teeth. He set it down by her shoes and looked up at her expectantly.

"Yes, that's a very nice dead rat." she said. He just kept looking at her, waiting for... something. "What do you want?"

He suddenly seemed sad, worried that she wouldn't do whatever it was he wanted. _He doesn't want me to eat it, does he? Oh, I sure hope not..._

She got down to his level and looked at him, wondering what was going through his head. She picked the rat up by its tail and Ezekiel's face brightened.

"What do I do with this?" she asked. As if he understood, he started biting an imaginary thing. _You have __got__ to be kidding me!_

"You want me to... eat it?" she asked. He nodded, the first human thing he'd done since she got there.

"I think I'll pass." she said. She began to set it down, but the despair on Ezekiel's face made it impossible. _If I'm gonna get him back to normal, I'll need to earn his trust. And besides, if it had any diseases, Ezekiel would have them._

So she lifted the rat and bit it, wincing as she did so. Trying hard to keep from puking, she swallowed the stuff quickly. She felt it slither down her throat. _How does he __eat__ this?_ She set the rat back down, and Ezekiel ate the rest.

"Oh hey, I have something for you!" Eva said, remembering what she had found earlier. She pulled the hat out of her backpack, and Ezekiel's eyes lit up at the sight of it. He jumped up and grabbed it from her with his teeth, landing back on his hands and knees.

"It's amazing how you recognized that faster than you recognized me." she said, laughing at the realization. Just like yesterday, he started out the door towards the tall grass, as if he was possessed. She followed him, and after he pulled up grass for a while (he had to leave his hat on the ground near her while he did), he went over to her and curled up next to her. He rested his head on the hat, and she heard him snoring softly. Then he began muttering incomprehensibly, and she listened closely.

"No... no... you can't... I have to... win..." he drifted off again, and Eva marveled at the sound of the first words he'd spoken since she got there. She wondered what he was dreaming about. She wondered what he had to win. Sweat began to collect on his forehead as his voice rang out with urgency.

"No! You can't!" he exclaimed. "Eva! Eva!"

Suddenly his head rose and his eyes darted around, as if searching for something. He then caught sight of her, and smiled. He crawled over her legs and spread himself out across them. He then set his hat back on the ground and rested his head on it. He was soon asleep once more. Eva absentmindedly picked bits of hay out of his tattered clothes. That was the first time she'd heard him say her name since before Total Drama World Tour. It was wonderful, regardless of the context it was in.

After a while he got back up and took off into the grass so fast that Eva didn't see where he went.

"Ezekiel? Where'd you go?" she asked aloud, searching around in the tall grass.

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><p><strong>AN**

Me: and so we see that one thing hasn't changed about our animal friend.

Kayla: what's that?

Derek: yeah, what is it?

Me: he's still excellent at hide and seek.

Kayla: oh.


	3. How to write a documentary

**A/N** so, Eva just lost Ezekiel in the tall grass, and now she's going to look for him.

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><p><em>Ugh, where is he?<em> Eva wondered as she searched. She had been searching for at least half an hour, without finding him. She held his hat in her hand, since he had left it on the ground. Suddenly, she remembered an episode of Total Drama World Tour, with the final four searching for Ezekiel in Africa.

"Well it's a beautiful day, out here in the tall grass, the perfect time to have some fun,

I'll find Zeke, and give him back his hat, as soon as he gives up." she sang. No good, he was still hiding, and she felt really stupid. _Maybe I should keep going..._

"Hiding from me, that's just sad, and pathetic since you won't get your hat back." she saw the grass move, and thrust her hand into it, though he wasn't there.

"I swear I almost had Zeke, I could see the movement in the grass." she sang. She kept searching.

"But seeing gets you nowhere around here, I guess I'm a loser and that's all,

but loser is what I call you, because I took your hat." she liked altering her voice to sound like the final four. She decided to skip Sierra's part, though.

"Well it's a beautiful day, out here in the tall grass, the perfect time to have some fun,

I'll find Zeke, and give him back his hat, as soon as he gives up." she sang. Suddenly the grass shook and Ezekiel came as fast as he could while crawling. He looked up at her, eyes bright, and Eva was sure that if he had a tail it'd be wagging. _It's kind of weird how sometimes he acts like a dog and sometimes he acts like a cat... which one is he?_

"Do you want your hat? Hmm?" she said. He got back on his hind legs (no, his knees!), and rose his front legs (no! Arms!) up in a begging position. He made a noise that sounded like a bark. Then he got on his back and batted at the hat with his paws (hands! Dang it!).

_Alright, since I keep wanting to think paws and hind legs and all that, I'm just going to think of him as if he was an animal... but he isn't an animal! I know the old Zeke is still in there somewhere... I just have to find him!_

Ezekiel soon fell asleep again, that game must have tired him out. He slept stretched across her legs. What she first thought was snoring she soon realized was actually purring. _A feral cat? I don't think so... he's very tame. A wild dog? No... a well trained dog. Though 'dog' and 'cat' were definitely right. I think he's both._

"Welcome back, today we're studying the very strange, very rare creature known as the cat-dog. Originally only seen in lame cartoons that hardly did it justice, the cat-dog is a half cat, half dog, half human creature that lives the life of all three at once. Its mind is terribly jumbled and sometimes he doesn't even know what he is." Eva said, in a mock documentary guy's voice. She laughed, trying not to wake up her rare cat-dog specimen. She took the hat out from under his head and put it on top, where it belonged. _Look, he's already looking more normal. Maybe we ought to try real food tomorrow._

Ezekiel slept peacefully, not having any more frightened outbursts. Eva was a bit sad about that. After only getting animal noises or no noises from him for so long, it had been so nice to hear his voice again, calling out her name.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

Me: they've both changed.

Kayla: yeah, Eva seems more fun, and Zeke is just... weird.

Derek: I liked when he played with the hat with his paws.

Me: you mean hands?

Derek: hands! Dang it!

Kayla: hey, at least he hasn't attacked her yet. Did you see what he did to Duncan?

Me: yeah. If Duncan had still been my favorite character, I would've been seriously ticked at him.

Kayla: yeah, but he isn't your favorite anymore because he made-

Me: don't say it!


	4. Swimming

**A/N** Eva has plans today, she's ready to begin the next step in Ezekiel's re-humanizing (is that even a word?).

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><p>Eva shouldered her backpack, packed with breakfast for Ezekiel and some dry clothes. She was dressed to go swimming in the lake nearby, and her towel was tied around her waist. She headed out to the barn and opened the door slowly, seeing Ezekiel asleep in the middle of the floor. <em>Interesting how he could still sleep last night after all the napping he did yesterday...<em> Amazingly, he still wore his hat on his head.

"Hey Zeke! Hope you haven't eaten yet!" she said, cheerfully. Almost instantly, he got up (on his hands and knees, of course), stretched like a cat, then crawled quickly over to her. She set her backpack down, and immediately he started sniffing it curiously.

"I hope you like bacon and eggs..." she said. She pulled out the box with bacon and scrambled eggs in it. She picked up the fork and poked some eggs on it, then offered it to him. More curious sniffing, then a cautious bite. He trusted her. _Hmm... I wonder if I can teach him to use a fork..._

He was now watching her, obviously wondering if he would get more or not.

"Here..." she tried to get him to take the fork, and ended up prying his fingers open and practically forced him to hold it. But, with much hard work on Eva's part, he did eventually figure out how to use a fork. _Alright! It's working!_

His favorite part was the bacon, obviously. It only made since that after months of eating raw rat, fried bacon must have been delicious. Heck, any cooked meat must have been miraculous to him.

"Okay, Zeke! Let's go!" she said. She started to head out, and he followed her out. She led him out to the lake. She set her things down and got in the water. Ezekiel just sat in the grass by the edge of the lake. It wasn't really a lake. It was too small to be a lake, but at the same time it was too big to be a pond. So she just called it a lake.

"Come on Zekey! You aren't afraid of a little water, are you?" she teased, though she didn't know if he even understood her. She did have reason to believe he could, but at the same time, she couldn't be sure. He crawled awkwardly into the water, and doggie paddled out to where Eva was. She took hold of his hands to hold him in place, and he seemed to fear he would sink. But he trusted her, so he didn't struggle. Soon his eyes widened as his feet touched the bottom of the lake. He was standing. He glanced down into the water, wondering if it was for real.

His mouth opened slightly, and he stared at her for a long time. She released his hands and they stood there in the water. The silence stretched out for what seemed like forever. Eva thought that Ezekiel would say something, as though standing on his feet and using silverware could restore him completely. But in the end, he simply barked and doggie paddled deeper into the water.

"Oh Zeke..." she said. She knew she'd just have to keep trying. That his full restoration would come bit by bit, a little at a time. That despite her efforts, he still might not come back.

She got Ezekiel standing in the water a couple times without any results. Then she got an idea. The next time she got him standing, she started to back away from him. Maybe, she could teach him to walk this way. She continued to back up, and when she got far enough away he lost his footing and ended up swimming after her.

* * *

><p>"So what are you gonna do tomorrow, Eva?" Mary asked at dinner.<p>

"Well, I've been trying to teach him to walk on two legs. He hasn't made much progress so far, but I know we'll get somewhere tomorrow." Eva replied.

"What makes you think that? We spent months trying to get through to him, to no avail!" Jeremiah said.

"Oh, I've got something that'll make it worth his while to learn." Eva said.

"You aren't gonna kiss him, are you?" Daniel asked. Eva blushed.

"That's not at all what I had in mind." Eva said.

"Good, because I don't think that would help." Daniel said.

"Though you ought to anyways, he always used to tell me how he really liked you." Mary said, acting the part of a tattle-tale little sister.

"Oh, did he now?" Eva asked, with fake interest. It didn't really matter if he liked her now, since he was currently an animal.

"Oh yes! In fact-" Mary began, but her mother stopped her.

"That's quite enough Mary." she said.

"Okay..." Mary said. "I'll tell you later" she whispered to Eva.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

Me: some of you may be wondering why Eva cares so much about Ezekiel's sanity.

Kayla: well, that's because she likes him!

Derek: but... haven't you already established that?

Me: well, I thought I did. Anyways, that's the deal with this. Okay?


	5. Me just a worthless catdog

**A/N **this next part of the story actually begins at night. Why? Let's find out...  
>Oh, and the title reference for this chapter is from those Hank the Cowdog books i used to read. Me just a worthless coyote, me howling at the moon... :)<p>

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><p>Eva was asleep in Mary's slightly too small bed, when all of a sudden she was awakened by a noise. It sounded like a sad dog, crying out into the night. When she looked out the window, there was Ezekiel, howling at the full moon. He looked quite human out there, bathed in the silvery moonlight. Of course, he was still crouched on the ground, howling. Eva left the room and went outside to where he was. The grass was moist, and the air was cold, but she crouched beside him and howled along with him. If anyone who didn't know Ezekiel's condition had seen them out there, they would have thought them crazy. In hindsight, it seemed more like something Izzy would do. When he stopped, she said goodnight and went back inside to sleep.<p>

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><p>The next morning after breakfast, Eva got the bacon scraps she had saved from breakfast and put them in her backpack. Once outside, she set her backpack down and headed towards the barn, but before she reached the door she was tackled to the ground. Ezekiel managed to lick her face thoroughly before she was able to push him off and get up. She wiped her face dry in disgust.<p>

"And that is precisely why I don't have pets." she said. "Or, I didn't have pets, but apparently I have one now."

_Now, getting down to business... where should I start?_ She wondered. Ezekiel was sitting on the ground, watching her and panting like a dog. _Definitely something simple._ She reached down a picked a stick up off the ground.

"Hey Zeke! Want the stick?" she asked, waving it in his face. He panted harder, then barked excitedly. "Then go fetch!"

She threw the stick as far as she could, and Ezekiel took off after it. She took this opportunity to reach into her backpack and get the treats. Soon he returned, on all fours, stick in mouth. He dropped it at her feet.

"Good boy!" she said. She tossed him a bacon scrap, and he caught it in midair. "Can you roll over?"

He barked and rolled over. She tossed him another scrap. He sat there watching her, wondering when he'd get another treat.

"Can you beg, boy? Can you beg?" she asked. He assumed a very doggie-like begging pose. He barked. "Good boy!" she tossed him another treat.

"Can you shake?" she asked. She crouched down beside him and he raised his hand for her to shake, just like a dog would. "Good boy!"

She held out a treat to him, and he ate it out of her hand.

"Alright, this is a hard one. Are you ready?" she asked. He barked. "Okay. Can you speak?"

Eva had really been hoping she'd get actual words from him, but instead he just barked, then looked at her expectantly.

"Can you speak English?" she asked. He just looked at her with his big brown eyes, a sad puppy dog expression on his face. Eva bit her lip and tried to convince herself that he didn't deserve the treat. It didn't work.

"Oh, you know I can't resist that face." she said, tossing him the treat. "Now here's a real challenge. You can have all these treats... "

She paused to wave a handful of treats in his face. His eyes widened.

"All you have to do is get them from me." she said. She raised them into the air, just a little bit out of his reach. He jumped, but each time she raised the treats, causing him to jump higher and higher. At one point they were higher than he could jump.

"Come on Zeke! You can do it!" she said. He continued to jump, almost like a frog, but he couldn't reach. "Come on boy! Just a little higher!"

Suddenly he stopped jumping. Instead, he turned and began to crawl away. He got to her backpack before she registered what he was up to, and by the time she got over to him, he had gobbled up all the other bacon scraps in her backpack.

"That's not fair. You can't just get in my backpack like that. Bad dog. Very bad dog." she said, halfheartedly. _Okay, time for the backup plan._

She grabbed his arms and picked him up. His legs drifted limply beneath him. She tried to set him on his legs, but they just collapsed under him.

"Come on... stand..." she said, as she kept trying to make him stand up. She didn't succeed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

Me: at least she's trying.

Kayla: The part where Zeke was acting like a little puppy dog was so cute!

Derek: it was.

Me: I thought you would say that.


	6. Reversion

**A/N** I'm gonna make it, they can't stop me now, let them try! Our fortune's waiting, it's time for you to say bye, bye, bye!

Sorry, can't help it.

* * *

><p>The next morning came slowly, as Eva had trouble sleeping. She kept thinking she would never get Ezekiel back to normal, no matter how hard she tried. It entered her mind so many times, she almost started to believe it. When she finally went outside, Ezekiel was waiting for her. After she gave him his breakfast and he had finished, he watched her patiently, waiting for her to tell him what they would do that day.<p>

"Hey Zeke. I was thinking I would let you decide what we do today. So what do you want to do?" she asked. As always, he didn't answer. "Well, if you think of something, let me know."

He began crawling away. Maybe he was going back to the grass? She got up to follow him.

"You know, it can't be that hard to stand up from the position you're in. I don't see why you don't just walk." she said as she followed him. He stopped and stretched himself out on the grass. She sighed and sat by him on the ground. "Can't you just try? It would make me feel so much better."

Eva gazed out into the tall grass. _I ought to just forget it. I don't think he'll ever come back..._

Suddenly, a happy bark cut through the silence. When Eva turned back towards Ezekiel, he was standing up on two legs. She gasped, then jumped up to hug him.

"You did it! Oh Zeke, I knew you could!" she said. He still made animal noises instead of talking, but she could fix that later. Now that he could stand, anything was possible.

* * *

><p>The next day came quickly. Eva went out to the barn, ready to get Ezekiel completely back to normal. She wanted to bring back his memory, but if all else failed, she could at least teach him to talk again. When she got to the barn, however, Ezekiel was nowhere in sight. <em>Maybe he's in the hay loft.<em> She thought, walking towards the ladder. She stepped in something squishy. It was a pile of rat remains.

They were fresh.

Eva felt a wave of panic pass over her, but she shook it off. _It doesn't mean anything. There's no reason to panic, Ezekiel just got hungry._ She thought as she climbed the ladder. She didn't find him in the hay loft, but she did figure out that the hay loft window offered a great view of the farm. When she looked out, she noticed that there was a picture in the tall grass. With closer examination, she realized that Ezekiel had drawn her in the grass. _How sweet._

There had been a time, back before Total Drama World Tour, when Ezekiel had a crush on her. He'd written her love notes, and even serenaded her outside her balcony one night. If he'd been drawing her in the grass, then perhaps he still liked her. This thought gave Eva hope, but those hopes were quickly dashed by what she saw next.

There was movement in the grass. As she stepped away from the window, she found Ezekiel's hat on the ground. _Dead rats... movement in the grass... he isn't wearing his hat... oh crap._ When she put it all together and realized what was going on, she picked up the hat and quickly descended the ladder. She dashed out to the tall grass, and found him pulling it up with his teeth.

"Zeke? Are you okay?" she asked. He turned in her direction and growled. He moved towards her, barking angrily.

"Why are you barking at me? It's me, Eva!" she said. He jumped at her and would have bit her if she hadn't jumped out of the way.

She backed up until he turned away from her. _Why doesn't he recognize me?_

Luckily, the grass pulling quickly tired him out, and he slept. While he slept, she approached him, and put the hat back on his head. As she sat down beside him, he began to mumble. The mumbling soon turned to words, loud enough that Eva could understand.

"Need... to... finish... Eva... has... to... see..." he said. He woke with a start, and immediately returned to pulling up grass.

"Stop! Just... just stop." Eva said. He stopped and turned to look at her. She crawled to him as he would to her, on all fours. He looked at her, his big brown eyes nothing but curious. It was all too much. Not only was he turning back into an animal, but then there was all the work he was doing just to impress her. But what more could she do? How could she possibly save him now?

Suddenly, she knew exactly what to do.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

Me: and she'll do it, right after these messages!

Kayla: oh man!

Derek: and just when we were getting to the good part, too!

Ryan: that's how commercial breaks are.

Me: oh, but it will definitely be worth the wait. Trust me.


	7. Conclusion

**A/N **and we're back! That sure was a long message from our sponsors, though. I didn't think the commercials would be that long...

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><p>Ezekiel was confused. Was he still on the plane? No... there was grass under him. And who was kissing him? Maybe this was Africa and he was being kissed by a monkey. Or an alligator. Or... Heather? Maybe, although that would be gross. But one thing he was sure of was that Africa was where they were headed when Chef found him amongst the cargo and knocked him out. It had to be Africa. But then one question remained. And while he would've liked to just enjoy being kissed, his curiosity got the better of him. He had to know. So he opened one eye, just enough to see...<p>

Then both his eyes opened wide as he realized it was Eva.

There were a number of reasons why he was so surprised. First of all, how did she get to Africa? Or wherever he was. And second of all, since when did she like him? He had liked her for a while, but she never seemed to like him at all. In the end, he closed his eyes and decided to just enjoy it while it lasted.

* * *

><p>When Eva stopped kissing Ezekiel, she looked him in the eyes and saw a new clarity there. It was almost as though he knew what was going on. Like he was back to normal. Then curiosity and confusion clouded them up again.<p>

"Is that it?" he asked.

"You're back. Ezekiel, you're back!" she said.

"I'm back? Where did I go? And... where am I?" he asked, looking around.

"We're at your house." she said.

"How did I get here?" he asked.

"You mean... you don't remember anything?" she asked._ How could he not?_

"Anything what? What am I supposed to remember?" he asked.

"Quick! What's the last thing you remember?" she asked.

"Well... I was in the plane. I was hiding behind a door so I could hear who got voted off without being caught. I heard Blaineley say that I had been hiding on the plane, and I panicked. I dashed back to the storage area and hid in a large box, which was where I usually hid because it had lots of air holes. As I was closing the lid, the door opened, and Chef Hatchet came towards me. He opened the box and then... nothing. I blacked out. The next thing I remember is right now." he said.

"So... you don't remember being hunted in the Serengeti? Or beating up Duncan? Or the plane blowing up in Drumheller? Or hitching a ride on a train? Or sailing on the crew ship in a cage the Hawaii? Or wrestling the million dollars away from Heather? Or falling in the volcano and almost dying? How could you not remember that?" she said.

"Wait... Heather won?" he asked. Eva found it incredible that after all the things she named, that was the first thing he asked about.

"As it turned out, in the end it was either Heather or Alejandro." she said.

"And I beat Duncan up?" he asked.

"Oh, I wish you remembered that! That was awesome! You jumped out of the water and caught him off guard, and then you started wailing on him! If Alejandro hadn't knocked you out with a tranquilizer, you might have killed him!" she said.

"Guess I don't know my own strength. Did you say I fell in a volcano?" he asked.

"That was after you took the million from Heather. You kinda stumbled and fell backwards into the volcano." she said.

"But I didn't die?" he asked. Eva couldn't help but laugh at that.

"No, you didn't die. The volcano erupted shortly after you fell in. You crash landed in Chris's boat." she said.

"That's good. If I had died, my poor sister would've been devastated. Speaking of which, where is Mary?" he asked.

"She's inside. Let's go say hi." she said.

* * *

><p>They went inside, and almost immediately after, Ezekiel's parents put down the dishes they were cleaning. His mom ran right over to hug him, but his dad just stood there, a disbelieving look in his eyes.<p>

"I'm dreaming..." his dad said.

"This is for real, dear!" his mom said.

"It is?" his dad asked.

"If you don't believe it, come see for yourself." Ezekiel said. His dad came over, and Ezekiel hugged him.

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle." Jeremiah said. He had just walked in with Daniel.

"You will? I thought you'd be a farmer." Ezekiel said, letting go of his dad and walking over to his brothers.

"That's my little brother!" Daniel said. Jeremiah patted Ezekiel on the back, while Daniel took his hat and messed with his hair. Suddenly, all fell silent as a small gasp somehow filled the entire room. There, in the doorway from the hall, was Ezekiel's little sister, Mary. She just stared, mouth wide open, unable to put her feelings into words.

"Mary!" Ezekiel said, running across the room. He scooped Mary up in his arms and spun her around and around until she was giggling with dizziness. Eva couldn't help the smile growing on her face as Ezekiel set Mary down and started kissing her face. When he stopped, she kissed him back.

"I missed you Zeke. I missed you so much." Mary said.

"I missed you too." Ezekiel said. Then Mary motioned for Ezekiel to come closer. He did, and she whispered something to him.

"Oh, no! I couldn't possibly..." he started to say, but then Mary started whispering again. "But, I haven't seen you guys in so long, I shouldn't..."

Mary whispered something else.

"Well, I guess you're right, but..." Ezekiel said. Then Mary whispered something else. "Alright, I'll do it."

Then he stood up straight again, and began walking towards Eva.

"Eva, I know I ought to be spending lots of time with my family now, to make up for all I've missed, but... would you go out with me?" he asked.

"Of course I will!" Eva said. Sure, she had to take a plane and a bus and a train to get there, and she didn't know how they'd keep up a long distance relationship, but if Ezekiel could see it working out, why should she doubt it? She decided it was best to live in the moment and they could figure that out when her parents wanted her to come home.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

Derek: coming to you live from the Feral end author's note, it's Alana Live!

Alana: hey guys! Wasn't that adorable?

Kayla: yeah, no kidding!

Ryan: I love how Ezekiel's family spent months trying to get him back and it didn't do any good, but then Eva could get him back to normal in less than a week.

Eva: I'm just awesome like that.

Ezekiel: yes, you are.

Alana: well, that's all the time we have, so join us next time on Alana Live!


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